Leighton Meester became famous as a confident brunette, playing the polished Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl. Like her style-conscious co-star Blake Lively, Meester’s hair has changed over the years. In 2018, she made a bold move by trading her signature dark hair for a much lighter look.
Meester revealed her dramatic transformation on Instagram, sharing a selfie that showed her new platinum blonde, shoulder-length cut. Her hair was several shades lighter and much shorter, making her almost unrecognizable. Fans quickly drew comparisons to Gwen Stefani, with comments like, “Yop! Gwen Stefani sister!” and “Gwen Stefani vibes!” Ten days later, Meester posted another selfie showing her blonde hair curled and healthy. She captioned it, “Still platinum and healthy.”
Talking to PopSugar, Meester explained her decision to change her look. “I recently cut my hair, and thought, ‘I just want the exact opposite of what I have. I want to try something completely drastic and different,'” she said. She credited the Nexxus Keraphix Masque for Damaged Hair for keeping her hair strong during the transition.
Although Meester became iconic as a brunette, she was actually born blonde. Gossip Girl co-creator Josh Schwartz told The Hollywood Reporter that Meester auditioned for the show with her natural hair color but was asked to dye it darker. “Blake [Lively] was the blond, so we asked [Meester] to color her hair. A risky move on her part in the middle of pilot season, but she did a sink-rinse dye job to audition as a brunette,” he shared.
Meester also spoke to Elle about her natural hair color, saying, “I grew up with blond hair and it turned ashy light blonde around 13 or 14. I wanted to recapture it as a teenager.”
Fans got a glimpse of her natural lighter hair back in 2003 at The Silver Spoon Beauty Buffet. Meester’s warm-toned, golden locks at the event highlighted her glowing skin and natural beauty. Even without her signature brunette shade, she proved she could easily pull off both looks.
